Dance With My Father

06/04/2003 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

For one of R&B's greatest voices to suddenly go silent is tragic. Yet what deepens the sorrow over Luther Vandross's recent stroke, and his struggle for life, is that on his first two albums for J Records, he's rediscovered the emotional center of his finest work, escaping years of slickly-produced efforts that unwisely sacrificed soul power to chase trends. True, you could make that claim of the hip-hop collaborations here with Foxy Brown and Busta Rhymes, but those are minor annoyances when measured against the ballads that have always been Luther's money--and tastefully passionate slow jams like "The Closer I Get To You" recall a whole stack of Vandross classics. His return to form is best savored, however, on the title track, a reminder that behind the great voice is a great writer as well. "Dance With My Father" may well be the pinnacle of his 30-year career, a heartbreaking remembrance that could teach any whining thug something about pain and love. May Luther sing again, to continue those lessons.